PN's Voice 117

PN's Voice No. 117, 08. 06. 2017 Small steps, Road to peace

Moon Halts THAAD Rollout

South Korea is suspending the deployment of a controversial missile defence system while the government examines its environmental impact. The rollout of the US-funded Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system (Thaad) may be on hold for a year. Four recently arrived launchers will not be deployed, an official said. Two already installed will stay in place.

Thaad aims to protect South Korea from the North's missiles, and has been criticised at home and by China. During that time, Thaad's deployment would be frozen as it was not "urgent enough" to bypass the assessment, it said. Thaad began its rollout earlier this year under South Korea's previous presidential administration, a move which Mr Moon has said was "regrettable".

The suspension comes days after Mr Moon's office accused the defence ministry of withholding information about Thaad from the president. It said the military did not tell Mr Moon about the delivery of the four other Thaad launchers. The ministry has defended this decision, saying it had to uphold a confidentiality agreement with the US.

Many South Koreans have objected to Thaad, believing it will become a target and endanger the lives of those who live near its launch sites. China has also voiced opposition to the system, saying it affects the regional security balance. Source : BBC News

North Korea Fires Land-to-Ship Missiles

North Korea has fired land-to-ship missiles, South Korea's military says. They were launched on Thursday morning local from the city of Wonsan on North Korea's east coast, according to a statement from the joint chiefs of staff, carried by Yonhap news agency. The statement described them as "a salvo of apparent ballistic missiles". South Korea's military said the missiles flew about 200 kilometres (125 miles).

Under Kim Jong-un, there have been increasingly frequent North Korean tests, all of which defy UN sanctions, and this is already the North’s 4th missile test since the South’s new President, Moon Jae-in, took office. Source : The Washington Post, BBC News

N. Korea blasts US for ditching Paris climate accord

North Korea says the U.S. decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord is foolish. A spokesperson for North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) told the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Tuesday that it shows the U.S.'s shortsightedness, in that protecting the earth the U.S. can also prosper. "The withdrawal from the Paris agreement, which is a by-product of Trump's America first policy, shows the U.S.'s selfishness and low morale," the spokesperson said. "It means that the U.S. is willing to sacrifice the whole world to have a prosperous life of its own."

The spokesperson said the withdrawal also had caused great danger in other areas. "The U.S. attitude toward the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue is a representative example," the spokesperson said. "It is very unfair and dangerous for the U.S. to pursue hostile policies against North Korea and demand sacrifices from other nations to do the same for its own security."Source : The Korea Times

Peace Network English PodcastThe studio we use for recording our podcast is currently taking a much-deserved break, thus we haven’t had any recent updates for a while. In the meantime, you can listen to existing episodes, both in English and Korean, at Peace English’s Podbbang channel at the link below: Source : Peace Network's English Podcast